Arsonist jailed for 27 months after starting Ilkley Moor fire

A man who deliberately started a fire on Ikley Moor, West Yorkshire, in April has been locked up.

20-year-old Mohammed Zulkifl was today sentenced to 27 months in a young offender's institute after pleading guilty to arson at Bradford Crown Court.

Prosecutor Jonathan Sharp explained how emergency services were already dealing with two critical blazes when Zulkifl committed his crime.

Mr Zulkifl was seen by council wardens setting fire to the grass with a cigarette at around 8pm on April 20. He admitted arson but claimed he had done so because he was cold.

At its height, there were 14 fire crews and 70 firefighters fighting the blaze which took three days to put out. Judge Jonathan Durham added that Zulkifl's actions could have been catastrophic.